Category: workbench

15mm Second English Civil War

A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.

” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”

The main inspiration for the background was the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and wondering if a similar scenario could play out in a disunited broken Great Britain. It was also an opportunity to bring in modern armoured trains as well.

After a visit to The Tank Museum I posted a photograph of the Alvis Saracen.

I also wrote: As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

Along with the Saracen release, Battlefront also released the Saladin armoured car.

I also posted some photographs of the Saladin Armoured Car from The Tank Museum and said of possible Wessex scenarios: You can easily imagine how these armoured cars would have been used for reconnaissance, keeping down unrest, and defending key installations against attack.

So I have ordered one pack of each.

I already have some Scorpion light tanks and along with some recently ordered Militia Pickup Trucks as well, I have the first makings of a 15mm army of Wessex. I have noted that Hornby have started a TT120 range of 1/120th scale trains, which would sit well within Wessex. Some ideas to work on there now.

Constructing the Necromunda Trazior Pattern Sentry Guns

This was one of those models that I liked the idea of. If you have ever seen the special edition of ALIENS, you will remember that the Colonial Marines used automated sentry guns to defend the colony from the aliens. I am pretty confident that these models are inspired by that film. I also liked the Tarantula sentry guns that were once available from Forge World.

In the pack you get two identical sprues that allow you to build two turrets mounted with twin grenade launchers, and two with twin heavy stubbers. It also includes ammo crates and control consoles. The models go together quite easily.

As is the case with many Games Workshop models there are a number of parts, some quite fiddly. Next stage will be a white undercoat.

Old World Metal Dwarfs

Having bought some metal models recently from Warhammer World, I have been thinking about how I could build my Old World Dwarf army. There are plenty of plastics now available, as well as some metal models.

I did look into my miniatures archive. I knew I had some drunken dwarfs and some metal miners.

The drunken dwarfs were released twenty five years ago in 1999 and were designed by Colin Dixon. There were four dwarfs in the pack, including one miner.

The miners were released at the same time, I have three of them, four if you include the drinking miner.

I also discovered I had three Ironbreakers as well.

Though in theory they are finished I think they’re not and need some additional work.

I know I have a classic Dwarf Gyrocopter as well, well I have the pilot, but need to find his aircraft.

I like my miners and drunken dwarves, so would like to get some more like that.

I am thinking I might have to go to the eBay to get some OOP miniatures. A really challenge is finding some 25mm slottabases, as the newer Warhammer: The Old World models are coming with 25mm bases.

Old World Imperial Dwarfs

I was going through some stuff and I found some Imperial Dwarfs that I have had a few years. This is a unit commander and a standard bearer. I didn’t have the bases, and there was only one plastic shield.

Old World Imperial Dwarfs

According to the copyright information on the base these are from 1987.

I don’t know if I have any more unpainted models of this era in the garage, but I don’t think I have anymore than these two unpainted models, I know I have some painted miniatures, somewhere.

Having bought some metal models recently from Warhammer World, I have been thinking about how I could build my Old World Dwarf army. There are plenty of plastics now available, as well as some metal models. I am thinking I might have to go to the eBay to get some OOP miniatures. A really challenge is finding some 25mm slottabases, as the newer Warhammer: The Old World models are coming with 25mm bases.

Constructing the Werewolves

On the cover of a recent Miniature Wargames was a sprue of Wargames Atlantic Werewolves.

I constructed the models, you get a number of choices of arms and heads, so if you had the box, all twenty of your werewolves would be different. They were simple to put together, however I did find the placing of the tails a little challenging.

I based mine on twopence coins. There were no bases provided on the cover of the magazine. As these are plastic miniatures the coins add weight to the models.

The next stage will be landscaping the bases with sand and then a white undercoat. I will probably use a contrast paint as the main basecoat.

Militia Group and Pickup Trucks

After thinking about it for a while I have ordered the Battlefront Militia Group and Pickup Trucks for Team Yankee. Back in 2022 I  was intrigued and pleased to see the announcement of the release of Team Yankee: Red Dawn.

Red Dawn Logo

With the war in Europe hitting a standstill, the Soviet Union has taken a bold decision to invade North America. Utilising their elite airborne forces they strike into the heart of America in a two-pronged attack. First through the Canadian province of British Columbia and into Alberta and then from the Gulf of Mexico into Texas. Using elite Air Assault Battalions they make surgical strikes on key infrastructure and secure their route inland. With them comes their staunch ally, Cuba. Though they have older equipment, the Cubans are well-trained and determined. Facing them are the US and Canadian home forces, as well as the various militia groups that have sprung up to fight against the invasion!

Of course Red Dawn was the name of the 1984 film starring Patrick Swayze. The film depicts a fictional World War III centered on a land invasion of the continental United States by an alliance of Soviet, Warsaw Pact and Latin American states.

The story follows a group of teenaged guerillas, known as the Wolverines, in Soviet-occupied Colorado.

The Team Yankee version of Red Dawn is very similar, but is part of the Team Yankee setting, so there is a war in Europe whereas in the film the war was focused on the North American continent.

I like the concept of armed militia and pick up trucks with HMGs on board, they had been on my wants list for a while. They could also be used for games in Wessex: The Second English Civil War for insurgent and militia forces.

You get four pickup trucks, each armed with an HMG.

In the militia group, you get twenty six miniatures. It contains:

5x Assault Rifle Teams
2x RPG-7 Anti-tank Teams
1x M224 60mm Mortar Team

Necromunda Sentry Guns

This was one of those models that I liked the idea of. If you have ever seen the special edition of ALIENS, you will remember that the Colonial Marines used automated sentry guns to defend the colony from the aliens. I am pretty confident that these models are inspired by that film.

I also liked the Tarantula sentry guns that were once available from Forge World.

In the pack you get two turrets mounted with twin grenade launchers, and two with twin heavy stubbers. It also includes ammo crates and control consoles.

Trazior Pattern Sentry Guns are illegal within the underhive, and with good reason – they will indiscriminately fire at anything that moves within its sights. However, gangs caught in desperate firefights still find uses for these deadly sentry weapons, just as long as they can keep out of the crossfire.

I don’t play Necromunda, and I don’t have any gang models, however I do like some of the terrain and scenery items.

In the box are two identical sprues.

So the first stage will be construction of the models.

Provisionally Prepared on the workbench

A few weeks back I wrote about Provisionally Prepared, a Warhammer Commemorative Series miniature, or limited edition as we use to call them. When it sells out, they won’t make any more. It’s a lovely little diorama and it features two halflings, sorry abhuman Ratlings, hiding behind some ruins. One is a sniper and preparing to shoot, the other is preparing lunch.

I liked it, so pre-ordered it from my FLGS. What I had forgotten about, or more likely I hadn’t pre-ordered anything in a while, is that Games Workshop have moved to a two week pre-order window. I thought it was a week, so I went to my FLGS last week to pick it up. Of course they didn’t have it,  so I picked something else up instead.

This week I went back and picked up Provisionally Prepared. It’s a little box with a single sprue. When (and if) I paint this up, I will be painting the two Ratlings separately to the scenic base.

 

Dwarf Miners

Having bought some metal models recently from Warhammer World, I have been thinking about how I could build my Old World Dwarf army. There are plenty of plastics now available, as well as some metal models.

This was very much an impulse buy. I was in my FLGS looking at the shelves across The Old World range and decided I would get some dwarf miniatures.

I went for the Dwarf Miner box, which gives you twenty miners and four miner’s carts.

Dwarf Miners often join their brethren when they march to war. As a point of pride, they wield the same heavy, two-handed mining picks and mattocks they use to carve out tunnels, rather than the axes and hammers typically favoured by other Dwarfs. They are accompanied into battle by sturdy wooden carts drawn by rugged draft ponies to ensure they are properly equipped to face the trials that await them.

I like the candles on the helmets, but in reality how long would they stay alight on the battlefield? You get four large sprues and a bundle of bases in the box.

I am planning to paint them in the same way as some (metal) Dwarf Miners I painted a while back, a long while back.

I am thinking I might have to go to the eBay to get some OOP miniatures.